Good morning. It\u2019s Monday. Today we\u2019ll try beer brewed according to a recipe that George Washington wrote in his notebook in 1757.<\/p>\n
I much prefer a good martini<\/a>, so I should probably explain why I was in a craft brewery\u2019s taproom, sipping beer that was at once old and new.<\/p>\n The beer was old because it was made according to a 269-year-old recipe that an ambitious young militia commander, fighting for the British in the French and Indian War, had written in a little notebook. The brew was low in alcohol and known as a small beer. It was for the troops, to be made and served when they could not be sure the water at their base camp was safe to drink.<\/p>\n The militia commander\u2019s name was George Washington.<\/p>\n The beer was new because it had been brewed a few days earlier. To celebrate the nation\u2019s 250th anniversary, the New York Public Library arranged to have the recipe brought to life by Talea Beer Company. I first went to a conference room at the library to interview Meredith Mann, who as the library\u2019s interim curator of manuscripts is the keeper of Washington\u2019s notebook.<\/p>\n But the library doesn\u2019t allow food or drink in the same room as any of its holdings, so after looking at Washington\u2019s notebook, we adjourned to the taproom to find out what his small beer tasted like.<\/p>\n \u2018Very molassesy\u2019<\/p>\n First, the appearance. This brew is a couple of shades darker than many modern beers, closer to rum. That is no surprise, considering that the principal ingredient that Washington called for is molasses.<\/p>\n Then, the pour. Sure enough, Tara Hankinson, a co-founder of the company, found the nose \u201cvery molassesy,\u201d while Eric Brown, the head of production for Talea, described it as \u201cgingerbready, like caramelized sugar.\u201d Mann said she was \u201csurprised by how pleasant it tastes.\u201d She had expected the brew to be \u201ctoo sweet to drink.\u201d It wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n There were two glasses in front of us and a second beer to try. Talea is making not one but two brews from the recipe. One, called George Washington\u2019s Beer, is being produced \u2014 in limited quantities \u2014 more or less the way the recipe appears in the notebook.<\/p>\n The other beer is what Hankinson called \u201ca more quaffable commercial version\u201d that will be made from a modernized variant of Washington\u2019s recipe and marketed as Liberty Lager. \u201cWe wanted to honor the recipe while also making something that people would want to serve at a barbecue or have more than one when they come for a trivia night,\u201d Hankinson said. \u201cIt still has the color, but it\u2019s refreshing, with a little bitterness that makes it very food-friendly.\u201d<\/p>\n Resurrecting Washington\u2019s beer is not the only way the library is commemorating the 250th anniversary<\/a>. Starting at 10 a.m. today, the library will also offer timed tickets to see a draft of the Declaration of Independence<\/a> from July 1 to July 7. The draft, handwritten by Thomas Jefferson, includes a condemnation \u2014 later excised \u2014 of slavery.<\/p>\n When the water was undrinkable<\/p>\n But about the beer. Mann explained that when Washington wrote out the recipe, small beer was an antidote to an 18th-century problem: nonpotable water.<\/p>\n The recipe called for boiling the water. It\u2019s not clear why Washington didn\u2019t just stop there, but he liked his beer. Soldiers liked it, too, because it was free of waterborne diseases that were common before filtration became widespread in the 1900s. \u201cIf your entire garrison gets dysentery,\u201d Mann said, \u201cthat\u2019s a real liability.\u201d She said the Continental Army was hobbled by \u201crampant sickness\u201d before the Battle of Brooklyn. The Americans\u2019 loss drove Washington into retreat and left New York under British control.<\/p>\n Elsewhere in the notebook with the recipe, Washington took note of commissions awarded to lieutenants under his command.<\/p>\n Commissioning became \u201csort of a point of contention for Washington,\u201d Mann said. The American colonies were in many ways the most British of Britain\u2019s territorial possessions, but \u201che quickly realized that it was almost impossible for someone born in the colonies\u201d to rise to the top ranks. He \u201cfelt, even at that early date, shut out,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n A side benefit of dysentery<\/p>\n There was a postscript to the recipe. A few months after he wrote it, he contracted dysentery himself, she said. Seeking treatment, he went to Williamsburg, in Virginia\u2019s Tidewater region.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that was where he met Martha Washington,\u201d Mann said, \u201cso dysentery brought them together. If he\u2019d drunk more small beer, he might never have met his future wife.\u201d<\/p>\n Weather<\/p>\n Expect sunny skies with a high near 74 degrees. Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low around 54.<\/p>\n ALTERNATE-SIDE PARKING<\/p>\n In effect until June 19 (Juneteenth).<\/p>\n QUOTE OF THE DAY<\/p>\n